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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. content — happy
  6. suit — clothes
  7. file — a line of people
  8. suit — in cards
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. file — a document
  11. content — the amount
  12. stock — goods
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. stock — shares
  15. perch — the fish
  16. file — a tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. suit — to fit
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com